Interacting information streams on the nephron arterial network

Abstract

Blood flow and glomerular filtration in the kidney are regulated by two mechanisms acting on the afferent arteriole of each nephron. The two mechanisms operate as limit cycle oscillators, each responding to a different signal. The myogenic mechanism is sensitive to a transmural pressure difference across the wall of the arteriole, and tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF) responds to the NaCl concentration in tubular fluid flowing into the nephron’s distal tubule,. The two mechanisms interact with each other, synchronize, cause oscillations in tubular flow and pressure, and form a bimodal electrical signal that propagates into the arterial network. The electrical signal enables nephrons adjacent to each other in the arterial network to synchronize, but non-adjacent nephrons do not synchronize. The arteries supplying the nephrons have the morphologic characteristics of a rooted tree network, with 3 motifs characterizing nephron distribution. We developed a model of 10 nephrons and their afferent arterioles in an arterial network that reproduced these structural characteristics, with half of its components on the renal surface, where experimental data suitable for model validation is available, and the other half below the surface, from which no experimental data has been reported. The model simulated several interactions: TGF-myogenic in each nephron with TGF modulating amplitude and frequency of the myogenic oscillation; adjacent nephron-nephron with strong coupling; non-adjacent nephron-nephron, with weak coupling because of electrical signal transmission through electrically conductive arterial walls; and coupling involving arterial nodal pressure at the ends of each arterial segment, and between arterial nodes and the afferent arterioles originating at the nodes. The model predicted full synchronization between adjacent nephrons pairs and partial synchronization among weakly coupled nephrons, reproducing experimental findings. The model also predicted aperiodic fluctuations of tubular and arterial pressures lasting longer than TGF oscillations in nephrons, again confirming experimental observations. The model did not predict complete synchronization of all nephrons.